---
title: "How Analytics Tabs Work"
description: "How Docket Navigator analytics define a data set with filters, calculate charts and tables, compare results, and link statistics to the underlying litigation records."
---

An **analytics tab** summarizes a filtered set of Docket Navigator data as a chart and data table.

The central analytics interaction pattern is:

**active library → active filters → selected records → calculation → chart/table → underlying records**

The chart is therefore a representation of the records selected by the filters. To interpret an analytics result correctly, identify both the calculation being shown and the filter set that produced it.

## Where analytics appear

Analytics can be opened in two main ways.

### From the Analytics Toolkit

Analytics opened from the Analytics Toolkit begin with the tool's defaults. The user supplies the criteria needed for the research question.

This is the usual starting point for a custom comparison or trend analysis.

### From a profile

Analytics opened from a profile begin with the profile subject already applied as a filter.

A Time to Milestones tab opened from a judge profile, for example, begins as an analysis of that judge. Some profile analytics also apply additional default filters that define the records counted by the chart.

The underlying analytics model is the same in both locations. The difference is the starting filter set.

[Learn how profiles work](/profiles/how-profiles-work/)

## Analytics tabs and search-result tabs

Docket Navigator binders can contain both analytics and search results.

**Analytics tabs** are marked with three gold bars. They return a chart and data table.

**Search-result tabs** return lists of records such as cases, docket entries, pleadings and orders, determinations, remedies, or other searchable items.

Search results answer "which records match?" Analytics answer "what does this filtered set look like when counted, grouped, timed, ranked, or compared?"

## Analytics live in binders

Analytics tabs open inside a binder.

The binder's Table of Contents keeps the analytics view beside related searches and supporting research. Use **Add New Tab** to add another view and **New Folder** to group related tabs.

Analytics tabs persist as part of the binder when the binder is saved.

[Learn how binders work](/getting-started/binders/)

## Filters define the analyzed population

Every analytics result is driven by filters.

Common filter types include:

- judge;
- court;
- party;
- firm;
- attorney;
- case filing date;
- document filing date;
- case status;
- forum;
- patent or other intellectual-property asset;
- technology;
- Type of Document;
- Posture of Motion;
- Result of Motion or Order;
- Legal Issue;
- document text.

The available filters depend on the analytics tool and library.

The filter set determines which records enter the calculation. Two charts with the same title can produce different results because their filters are different.

[View analytics filter descriptions](/analytics/filter-descriptions/)

## Pre-applied filters are real filters

Analytics opened from profiles or other pre-configured views can contain filters before the user makes any changes.

These filters should be treated exactly like user-selected filters when interpreting the result.

For example, a profile tab can already be filtered to:

- the profile subject;
- a particular Type of Document;
- a particular Posture of Motion;
- a forum or date range;
- another criterion required by the chart.

Use **Edit Filters** to inspect or change the active criteria.

## Filter semantics matter

Several Docket Navigator filters describe different aspects of the same litigation event. They should not be treated as interchangeable.

### Type of Document

**Type of Document** identifies the kind of motion, filing, order, or other document.

Use it when the question is about all processed records of that type, including when calculating the overall number or outcome distribution of a motion category.

### Legal Issue

**Legal Issue** identifies a ruling containing substantive reasoning or analysis of a specific procedural or substantive legal concept.

A processed order can have a Type of Document without having a Legal Issue. Legal Issue therefore selects a narrower set when the question requires substantive analysis of the issue.

### Posture of Motion

**Posture of Motion** describes the procedural setting in which the motion was presented.

Posture can distinguish a contested motion by a party from a sua sponte ruling, a motion to vacate, or another procedural form.

### Result

A result filter identifies how the motion or request was resolved, such as granted, denied, partial, or another available result category.

Combining these fields defines the analytical question precisely.

See [Terminology](/terminology/) for Docket Navigator terms.

## From search results to analytics

A record-level search can be used as the basis for analytics.

In supported result views, **Open Analytics** creates an analytics tab using the same underlying search criteria. This allows the user to begin with a list of rulings and then calculate a chart, such as Motion Success, over that result set.

The original search tab and the new analytics tab can remain together in the binder.

## Reading an analytics result

Most analytics views provide three layers.

### Chart

The chart visualizes the selected data.

Depending on the tool, the chart can show totals, percentages, trends over time, outcome distributions, rankings, timing, comparisons, or another calculated view.

Some analytics offer more than one chart form through the **View** control.

### Data table

The data table provides the figures behind the chart.

Where available, tables show counts, percentages, or both. Use the table when the exact value matters more than the visual pattern.

### Underlying records

Chart segments and table values can link to the records that produced the number, including cases, orders, or documents.

This drill-down is the verification layer for analytics.

When a statistic matters, follow the number to the underlying records and inspect the relevant source documents.

## Totals and percentages

Where available, **Totals** and **Percentages** change the unit shown by the analytics view.

- **Totals** show volume.
- **Percentages** show the relative share of the selected data.

These answer different questions. A court can have a high number of grants because it handles many motions while having a lower grant percentage than another court.

Confirm the active unit before comparing subjects.

## Comparisons and denominators

A percentage is meaningful only in relation to its denominator.

When comparing judges, courts, firms, attorneys, parties, or other subjects, inspect:

- the records included by the filters;
- the time period;
- the forum;
- the document or issue category;
- whether totals or percentages are displayed;
- the comparison population or aggregate.

Do not treat a difference in historical percentages as proof of a causal tendency. Docket Navigator analytics describe the recorded litigation data selected by the current criteria.

## Current-year data

Charts plotted by year treat the current year specially because the year is incomplete.

**YTD** shows the actual data recorded so far in the current year.

**Estimated total** projects a full-year result by assuming that additional decisions will arrive at the same rate and in the same proportion of outcomes as the decisions already recorded for the year.

Estimated figures are projections. They can change as additional data is added.

Use **Current Year Options** where available to switch between actual year-to-date data and the estimated full-year view.

## Stipulated data

**Stipulated data** records events agreed to by the parties rather than contested decisions by the court.

Analytics exclude stipulated data by default in the views documented by Docket Navigator so the figures reflect contested outcomes. Some data sets allow stipulated data to be included through the available filters.

Check the stipulated-data setting when an analysis depends on the distinction between court-decided and agreed events.

## Tool-specific settings

Some analytics include additional settings that affect the calculation, such as:

- dates to exclude;
- trial type;
- case size;
- outlier handling;
- forum;
- current case age;
- ranking method;
- other tool-specific options.

These settings are part of the meaning of the chart and should be recorded when reproducing or explaining an analysis.

## Saving, sharing, and reproducing analytics

An analytics tab remains in the binder where it was created.

Save the binder to preserve the chart alongside its related searches and supporting tabs. Share the binder when another user needs the same research context.

To reproduce an analytics result, record the library, tool, filters, units, date settings, and other calculation options. The chart title alone is not enough to define the analysis.

## How an LLM should use analytics documentation

When an LLM explains a Docket Navigator statistic, it should identify or preserve enough context to answer these questions:

1. Which **library** supplied the data?
2. Which **analytics tool or tab** produced the result?
3. What **filters** selected the records?
4. Were any filters **pre-applied** by a profile or other workflow?
5. What **unit** is shown: total, percentage, time, rank, or another measure?
6. Is current-year data **YTD or estimated**?
7. Is **stipulated data** included or excluded where relevant?
8. What is the **comparison population or denominator**?
9. Which **underlying records** support the number?

If those details are missing, the result may be incomplete or easy to misinterpret.

:::note
Analytics features, filters, defaults, and calculation options vary by library and tool. Use the individual analytics page and [Analytics Filter Descriptions](/analytics/filter-descriptions/) for tool-specific details.
:::